Lions and Cobras want to apply pressure

MUMBAI: Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras' coach Paul Adams and his bizhub Highveld Lions' counterpart, Geoff Toyana, have told their respective teams to apply pressure on the opposition when the two sides face off in their Momentum One-Day Cup clash at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom on Sunday.

Both coaches admitted that getting early wickets is important in a big match. "Being positive in the field is important.

We haven't been striking the opposition early when we have the ball and transferring pressure towards them," Adams said. "They a dangerous side, but hopefully we can put them under pressure."

Toyana shared Adams sentiments about the new ball. "Where we've done well this season is that we've struck with the new ball. Our basics in the first 10 overs won't change because it's worked for us so far."

The two sides have had contrasting starts to the season so far. The bizhub Highveld Lions have won five of their opening seven matches, losing one with the other match being rained out.

Toyana said that despite the near perfect start his team could still improve.

"Cricket is never perfect, we still have plenty of work to do. We are playing good cricket but we can still improve. You can pick up injuries along the way that will affect your side, so we are definitely a work in progress," said Toyana.

The Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras have managed three victories from their opening six matches but Adams is confident that he and his team have identified what went wrong in their three losses.

"We had a couple of losses in a row but it was important to pinpoint why it was happening. We've had long chats over the past week and the win against the Knights by 10 wickets gave us a lot of confidence and we want to take that confidence into this weekend against the Lions," he explained.

Neither coach thinks home ground advantage will be a factor. The match will be played in Potchefstroom, the same ground where the Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras beat the bizhub Highveld Lions by 10 wickets in the four-day Sunfoil Series back in September.

"We've played around the country and we've played in Potch, we know what the ground is capable of and it's just a matter of getting there and assessing the conditions and playing to the best of our ability," Adams said.